The present invention relates to tools for estimating and optimizing the cooling energy consumption of an existing or new data center based on, for example, various parameters, such as component selection, geographic location, operation time and/or data center footprint.
A data center is a facility for operating a large number of servers. Servers typically include computational hardware, such as circuit boards, memory and computer processors. The servers are generally installed in racks or cabinets. Each cabinet typically holds approximate 40 servers. There may be hundreds of such cabinets in a data center floor.
Data centers often consume large amounts of electricity and generate a lot of heat. The generated heat must be dissipated from the data center in order to meet the operational requirements of the server components. Various cooling equipment can be employed in a data center to dissipate the generated heat. Such solutions include, but are not limited to, air conditioners, free cooling units, pressurized air plenums, chilled water, water pumps, chiller plants, cooling towers, water side economizers, and server rack fans.
Determining which heat dissipation solutions are the most energy efficient for a particular data center can be a difficult endeavor. Furthermore, external factors, such as climate conditions and energy costs at the data location can influence the best cooling strategy for a data center.